Images unveiled for Ebbsfleet landmark
- Published: 07 May 2008 12:05
- Author: Ruth Slavid
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- Last Updated: 07 May 2008 14:34
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Images by the five artists commissioned to design a landmark for Ebbsfleet Valley have been unveiled.
The 50m-high winning design will be built at Springhead Park, one of the first areas of the proposed 10,000-home development to be built. Costing £2 million, the landmark is intended to help establish a presence for the scheme in the Thames Gateway. The images are shown below. |
| Christopher le Brun |
Christopher Le Brun's proposal is for a concrete disc incorporating a wing. The form would be carved into the chalk of the local Springhead landscape, and concrete would be cast into the negative space. The sculpture would then be lifted into place with techniques similar to those used at Stonehenge. The casting pit would become a public amenity, and films could be projected onto the disc.
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| Daniel Buren |
Daniel Buren describes his tower of five stacked cubes as a 'signal'. A single laser beam of light will reach into the sky. The cubes and terraces will be made of white concrete, and at the centre will be a jewel-like cube painted in strong colours. A mirror-polished stainless steel parallelogram will offer reflections of the sky, the landscape and the people visiting.
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| Richard Deacon |
Richard Deacon describes his painted steel latticework made from 26 differently spaced polyhedrons as a 'nest'. Making reference to both the archeological history of the area and man's impact on the landscape, it is intended to resemble a cairn. Visitors will be able to walk into and through the sculpture and look out through the 'windows' created by the latticework.
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| Mark Wallinger |
At 33 times life size, Mark Wallinger's sculpture would be an accurate representation of a thoroughbred racehorse in every aspect except scale. It would be built using boatbuilding technology and makes reference to the use of the white horse as a symbol of Kent.
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| Rachel Whiteread |
Rachel Whiteread's proposal is for a craggy 'recycled mountain' on top which will sit a life-size cast interior of a house. A gentle slope on one side will allow visitors to climb up to the house and look out over the North Kent landscape.
The project has been commissioned by Eurostar, Land Securities and London & Continental Railways. The shortlisted proposals will be on display at Bluewater Shopping Centre from 27 May until 27 August. The winner will be announced in Autumn 2008.
